Law Enforcement Officials Testify About Aftermath Of Discovering Alleged Attempted Trump Assassin
Moving along faster than anticipated
Judge allows alleged would-be assassin’s sniper expert to testify at trial over DOJ objections
The Florida federal judge overseeing the case against accused would-be presidential assassin Ryan Wesley Routh has denied the government’s motion to exclude Routh’s sniper expert witness, who found that Routh’s weapon jammed twice out of four test shots earlier this year.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon issued an eight-page ruling denying federal prosecutors’ request to prevent testimony from Michael McClay, a former instructor in the U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper School.
Judge Cannon, noting that the U.S. Department of Justice plans to call an FBI sniper expert during Routh’s trial, said: “As of [sic] a result of that significant overlap, and mindful of the general principle of equal treatment in the context of expert witnesses, the court is not in a position to declare that McClay’s proposed testimony is wholly irrelevant and warranting full exclusion.”
'As the bolt went forward to cycle the second round from the magazine, the cartridge misfed and jammed at the throat of the chamber.'
Routh, who faces a Sept. 8 trial on five charges related to the alleged attempted assassination of President Donald J. Trump at his Florida golf resort, earlier sought subpoenas for McClay and two mental health experts expected to testify about Routh’s alleged lack of intent on Sept. 15, 2024.
Routh, 58, of Greensboro, N.C., is charged with the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the assassination attempt, intentionally assaulting a Secret Service officer, illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He faces possible life in prison if convicted.
RELATED: Suspected would-be presidential assassin Ryan Routh will represent himself at federal trial
The FBI said Routh set up a sniper’s nest just outside the fence near the sixth green of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Routh allegedly possessed a “military-grade” SKS rifle with a magazine containing 19 rounds with one in the chamber, ready to fire on President Trump, prosecutors said.
The FBI said Routh traveled from his home in Greensboro to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 14, 2024, and that on “multiple days and times” between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, Routh’s cell phone pinged towers near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and his golf club.
A Secret Service agent riding a golf cart toward the sixth green spotted someone in the brush outside the fence. After seeing a rifle poking through the chain-link fence, the agent fired four shots toward the gunman, who fled on foot and escaped the area by car.
Judge Cannon issued an order in May allowing test-firing of Routh’s rifle, “limited to an examination of its actual or potential operability.”
As the result of the test, McClay is expected to testify that he:
loaded the magazine into the rifle, placed the weapon onto fire (position), and pulled the trigger. The rifle expelled the projectile into the berm and the bolt extracted the spent casing. As the bolt went forward to cycle the second round from the magazine, the cartridge misfed and jammed at the throat of the chamber.
McClay then repeated the firing test “with the same result — a successful fire and then a jam on the second attempt to fire the weapon,” the document said.
Prosecutors sought to bar McClay from testifying at all in the trial.
“According to the United States, McClay’s account of his live-fire test is irrelevant and unhelpful, and the same goes for his opinion that the rifle was not the ‘optimal precision sniper tool,’” the judge wrote. “As for the rest of McClay’s disclosures, the United States says they do not state actual opinions and do not otherwise provide a basis for McClay to testify.”
The court “determines that the current record does not support the United States’ broad request to exclude McClay as a witness. As it stands, McClay proposes to testify as an expert on matters that sufficiently align with the topics identified by the United States’ expert disclosures, albeit with some differences.”
Prosecutors expect to call Erich D. Smith, an FBI firearms/toolmark examiner, who tested and examined the rifle in September 2024, who will testify “that he fired it twice, and that it ‘functioned normally when tested in the Laboratory,’” the judge’s order said.
“Smith’s test fire was primarily for the purpose of conducting a search in the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN),” the document said.
FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle, a special weapons and tactics expert, is expected to testify “regarding, among other things, Defendant’s ‘observation point’ or ‘final firing point,’ as well as ‘why a vantage point is desirable for a particular target.’”
RELATED: Alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh makes wild demand, turning upcoming trial 'into a circus'
Judge Cannon reminded the parties that “a conviction for attempt does not require that a defendant actually commit the final act required for conviction for the underlying crime.”
Routh is also seeking to call and offer testimony from Heather Holmes, Psy.D., and Rodolfo Buigas, Ph.D., about his alleged “lack of intent” on Sept. 15, 2024. Reports from both mental health experts have been submitted to Judge Cannon under seal.
On Aug. 1, Judge Cannon granted a DOJ motion to submit certain prosecution evidence under seal by authority of the Classified Information Procedures Act. The judge concluded that if revealed, the evidence “could cause serious damage or exceptionally grave damages to the national security of the United States.”
Routh, who is now representing himself pro se, only has access to public docket entries.
Judge Cannon on Aug. 4 ordered the DOJ to file under seal the entire contents of the “Dear World” letter alleged to have been written by Routh. The FBI earlier released a redacted version of the letter, in which Routh apologized “for failing to assassinate the 45th president and offering a $150,000 bounty to ‘whomever can complete the job.’”
Judge Cannon ruled the federal jury in Routh’s trial will be partially sequestered, including lunch and dinner breaks. Their names will be kept secret, and U.S. marshals will pick them up and deliver them to a secret safe location each day.
The ruling is meant “to preserve juror anonymity and privacy in light of media coverage, prevent from potential harassment or intimidating contact, and serve the fair administration of justice under the circumstances,” the judge said.
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Ryan Routh's former employee pleads guilty to helping arm Trump's alleged would-be assassin
Ryan Wesley Routh, a cheerleader for a Ukrainian brigade associated with neo-Nazis since its inception, allegedly attempted to assassinate the president at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
On that day, Routh — who made around 20 small donations to Democrats through ActBlue between 2019 and 2020 and whom the Biden Department of Homeland Security declined to investigate despite previous complaints — allegedly took aim at a U.S. Secret Service agent conducting a security sweep with an SKS semiautomatic 7.62x39 caliber rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine.
One of the two individuals arrested in April and accused by the Department of Justice of selling Routh the same Chinese-made weapon pleaded guilty to firearm trafficking on Monday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Randall Galyon of the Middle District of North Carolina alleged in a pair of court filings — one in May and another last week — that Tina Brown Cooper, who ultimately entered the guilty plea, agreed and conspired with Ronnie Jay Oxendine, her former employer, to "sell and dispose of a firearm to a prohibited person (Routh)."
Cooper set up the deal despite knowing that Routh had previously been charged with multiple felonies after threatening to blow up a police station.
In a Sept. 22 interview with FBI agents, Oxendine allegedly indicated that he met Routh in the 1990s, when they both owned roofing companies, and that they periodically crossed paths at hardware supply stores. Cooper separately indicated that she had known Routh since approximately 1999 and had worked for his company, United Roofing.
Around mid-July 2024, Cooper asked her then-employer, Oxendine, whether he had any guns for sale, then later informed him in a July 27 text message that Routh was making his way to Greensboro, North Carolina, and wanted to meet, court documents said.
Cooper allegedly told federal agents that Routh called her in July 2024 and indicated he wanted to acquire the weapon for his son to use as protection. When Cooper supposedly suggested Routh just acquire one from a pawnshop, Routh indicated he was unable to do so because he was a convicted felon.
According to the court filing, Cooper asked Oxendine if he had an AK-47 for sale. Oxendine allegedly agreed to sell an SKS rifle, which, while chambered in 7.62x39mm, was not similarly fully automatic.
On Aug. 2, Oxendine allegedly confirmed to Cooper over the phone that he was at his place of business, Oxendine and Son Roofing Company, and had the SKS rifle with him. Cooper turned up with her adult daughter and Routh, the latter of whom allegedly paid Oxendine $350 in cash for the rifle and Cooper $100 for arranging the sale.
Cooper set up the deal despite knowing that Routh had previously been charged with multiple felonies after threatening to blow up a police station, court documents said. The alleged would-be assassin was convicted in 2002 on a possession of a weapon of mass destruction charge, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records showed.
RELATED: Alleged attempted Trump assassin's political rant revealed in prison letter
Cooper — who was apparently chatting with Routh on Facebook Messenger from January 2014 until January 2022 — told FBI agents that upon learning of the alleged assassination attempt on Sept. 15, she deleted the contents of her phone to avoid any traces of involvement.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice asked the federal court in Florida overseeing Routh's case to admit non-hearsay statements by Cooper as they relate to her alleged efforts to obtain firearms on Routh's behalf.
In the filing, the DOJ also claimed that the trio not only discussed the rifle's serial numbers post-sale, but discussed the matter of possibly also acquiring a .50-caliber rifle for Routh.
Routh filed a motion of his own on Tuesday, requesting a new defense team for his case.
He was charged last year with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. If convicted, Routh could spend the rest of his life in prison.
H/T: Headline USA
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Another Day, Another Alleged Would-Be Trump Assassin Charged
Shawn Monper, 32, of Butler, Pennsylvania, faces federal charges of making threats to assault and murder President Trump, Musk, and others.REVEALED: Democrats ARE the party of violence
In the not-so-distant past, the media and the DOJ were insistent that the biggest threat to America were MAGA extremists, parents at school board meetings, and basically anyone donning a red hat.
However, a survey from the Network of Contagion Research Institute in partnership with Rutgers University Social Perception Lab shows that actually, a majority of Democrats support the use of violence against their political rivals — specifically against President Donald Trump and his supporters.
The survey found that a “broader assassination culture” appears to be emerging within segments of the U.S. public on the far left and that 55% of self-identified leftists say it’s OK to assassinate President Trump.
Thirty-one percent and 38% of respondents stated it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk and President Trump.
As for property destruction, 39.8% of respondents stated that it is at least somewhat acceptable to destroy a Tesla dealership in protest.
“So property destruction, totally fine,” Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” comments. “I mean, it’s just a peaceful protest.”
The survey went on to report that “these beliefs are highly correlated with one another as well as with the justification of the murder of United Healthcare CEO and hyper-partisan left-wing ideology.”
“It’s a sickness,” BlazeTV contributor Jaco Booyens adds. “Bring back the insane asylums in this country.”
“Yes, it is a sickness,” Gonzales agrees. “Including Ryan Routh, who was, of course, President Trump’s second assassination attempt.”
Newly released court documents show that Routh had not only attempted to shoot the president but also attempted to buy a rocket launcher from Ukraine in the process.
“Some people are so crazy deranged, some people are just so incredibly crazy. And you just have to think about the fact that if this had been a Trump voter targeting Joe Biden, and they had gone to Russia and said, ‘Can you please give me an RPG?’” Gonzales says.
“It would be over,” Booyens chimes in.
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Suspect Ryan Routh accused of nearly killing little girl after 2nd Trump assassination attempt
Florida officials continue to accuse federal agents of hampering the state-level investigation into the second assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump now that suspect Ryan Routh faces an attempted murder charge in connection with a 6-year-old girl who is still fighting for her life.
On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Routh had been charged with attempted felony murder after a 6-year-old girl was seriously injured in a car crash that occurred while Routh was being apprehended.
'When you couple those terrible injuries together with [Routh's] other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case.'
After Routh allegedly escaped Trump International Golf Club on September 15, he reportedly hopped into a getaway car. An eyewitness almost immediately "locked eyes" with the suspect and was able to give police a general description of the vehicle and the license plate, the affidavit claimed.
That vehicle, a black Nissan Xterra, was soon afterward spotted heading northbound on Interstate 95 in Martin County at around mile marker 110, according to the affidavit. Though the vehicle safely came to a stop along the highway, officers were concerned that explosives may be hidden inside it, so they stopped traffic in both directions, causing a significant pile-up.
Around 3 p.m. that day, about 35 minutes after the suspect's vehicle was stopped, an accident involving five cars occurred "3 or 4 miles south of the felony stop."
In one of the cars was a family who had just been visiting the Bush Wildlife Sanctuary. During the crash, their vehicle had been rear-ended with such force that a 6-year-old girl sitting in the second row and wearing a seatbelt suffered "life-threatening" injuries and had to be airlifted to a hospital, where she still remains, the affidavit claimed.
"We felt compelled to seek justice on her behalf and her family that will never be the same as they cope with her injuries," Moody said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"When you couple those terrible injuries together with [Routh's] other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case," she added.
During her remarks, Moody also called out federal agencies for allegedly thwarting state efforts to investigate the crash and the would-be attempt on Trump's life. "As a former federal prosecutor, I have never seen such unwillingness or lack of communication," Moody claimed.
"They responded that we should not bring charges," she continued. "The excuse and the reasoning kept coming back to the need to protect the case and national security."
She made a similar statement in a press release from her office. "Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, we vowed to bring transparency and accountability to the investigation into the second assassination attempt of President Trump," she said. "Despite the federal government frustrating our efforts, which we continue to challenge in court, we found that Mr. Routh’s actions caused catastrophic injuries to a six-year-old girl."
DeSantis, who wanted to attend the press conference but was prevented by inclement weather, likewise claimed that federal agencies had "stonewalled Florida’s investigation of the Trump assassination attempt at every turn."
Both DeSantis and Moody also expressed optimism that such alleged federal interference and obstruction will end under the second Trump administration.
"The tide will turn on January 20, and we fully expect that the federal roadblocks will be removed," DeSantis said.
"A new day is coming," Moody said, adding that she expects "new leadership" — especially attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and FBI director nominee Kash Patel — to "reach out" and work with state officials "as intended."
"The people who have been nominated, Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, love this country and what it is meant to be," she continued.
"I personally have strongly supported these nominations, leading efforts and writing to the Senate to promptly and thoroughly consider these nominations and to those senators that would advise and provide consent on the nominations of President-elect Trump."
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